June 2013 is officially here, and that means the day I’ve been dreadingexpectingavoiding eagerly anticipating is finally here: graduation.

Obviously, I’ve got some mixed feelings. This is a huge step into the next stage of any young adult’s life. It’s like going from adult life with the training wheels still on to full-fledged grown-up individual. My heart is doing little backflips right now just thinking about commencement, and I’ve still got two weeks to freak out about it.

So, on the threshold of the next stage, my boss asked me to write about the graduating experience. All I could think was, “AAAAAAAaaaaaahhh!”

But in the spirit of the writer I am, I have attempted to plumb the depths of that complex emotion and present to you every facet of the emotional rollercoaster that is college graduation, with the 7 Best/Worst Things About Graduating.

7. No more classes, no more books, no more teachers’ dirty looks!

All right, I don’t really get that many dirty looks, but no more school does mean less time working on research papers about the California Bay Delta and more time reading Murakami novels for the heck of it.

This is basically how I picture my life after college. Gif from gifwarehouse.tumblr.com

6. Everyone in sight will not have an average age of 20.

In the real world, I won’t be surrounded by a crowd comprised of my generation. There will be older people and younger people and us 20-somethings aren’t the vast majority of people in any room.

But, on the bright side, I won’t be surrounded by people my age! Because as neat as college is, it’s not an accurate representation of the world and I think sometimes we college kids forget that outside of Cal Poly, there aren’t just hundreds more college kids. We have to be actual, for-real grown-ups. And that variety will help us gain a broader perspective on the world, as well as allow us to learn from people who’ve gone through the same thing we’re going through right now.

Variety! Gif from greendalecommunity.tumblr.com

5. And all my friends will scatter to the four winds.

All right, I don’t know how to spin this one to the positive. I’ve already had friends and classmates graduate and leave me behind to go to Los Angeles/San Francisco/Seattle/Hong Kong. And now I have to leave all the friendships I’ve made for adventure elsewhere? It’s just too much to bear.

I just can’t with this feeling… Gif from glee.wikia.com

4. But then again, I am planning on adventures elsewhere.

I’ve spent four years in San Luis Obispo, and I am itching to go to the East Coast, or Europe, or Asia, or wherever. It doesn’t really matter. What matters is this: school is almost over, and it’s time to go live!

Wait for me, Bilbo! Gif from thefw.com

3. And with those adventures comes the opportunity to put all my fancy book-learning to use.

Isn’t that the point of Cal Poly’s “Learn By Doing” after all? To give us the tools to tackle life? And I know wherever I go, I’ll be writing, or making videos, creating media with my fancy new B.S. of Journalism.

Aspirations. Gif from Tumblr.com

2. And hopefully I’m prepared.

I mean, sure I’ve had jobs and paid rent, but I’ve never paid a cell phone bill in my life and I still call my mom every year for help with my taxes.

I hope I can handle it! Gif from Tumblr.

1. But in the end, there’s no escaping it! And I wouldn’t want it any other way!

The end of the school year, the end of an era, the start of a really big unknown. If I didn’t have to leave some time, I may never go, but in the end I can hardly wait to go explore and learn new things outside of college.